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George Gershwin
' 'George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928) as well as the opera Porgy and Bess (1935). Tossup Questions # Sarah Vaughan won an Emmy for performing songs from this composer. One of those songs was "I've Got a Crush on You," which appeared in the shows Treasure Girl and Strike Up the Band. His song "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" appears ' '''in an opera set in the fictitious Charleston, South Carolina neighborhood called Catfish Row. Name this composer of the opera Porgy and Bess who included a clarinet glissando at the beginning of his piece Rhapsody in Blue. # A bassoon announces the main theme in the first movement of a concerto by this composer, which opens with fanfare from the timpani and cymbals. That work by this composer features a third movement which was called an "orgy of sound" and recalls the first movement grandioso. Walter Damrosch frequently conducted premieres for this composer, who called for instruments such as the güira to (*) "take center stage" at the end of one of his overtures. This composer used a Charleston theme in his Concerto in F and used taxi horns in An American in Paris. For 10 points, name this composer who used a clarinet glissando to open Rhapsody in Blue. # John McCormack noted that after hearing one of this man's works, Rachmaninoff started to play jazz pieces in his spare time. His song "Rialto Ripples" was the basis for the' ''' theme of the last of his Three Preludes, intended to be part of a large work called The Melting Pot. Walter Damrsoch commissioned this man to write a work that begins with a rhythm based on the Charleston, his Concerto in F. Another one of this composer's works, subtitled "An Experiment in Modern Music," was inspired by a train ride he took from Boston to New York and begins with a clarinet glissando. For 10 points, name this composer of Rhapsody in Blue. # This composer wrote, for orchestra, variations on a piano tune he often played and improvised on at parties called "I Got Rhythm." Another of this composer's works calls for instruments such as a guiro and maracas to "be placed right in front of the conductor's desk." The trumpet plays a "homesickness blues" in one of this composer's works, which features the use of taxi cab horns. This composer's most famous work was premiered at a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" and opens with a clarinet glissando. For 10 points, name the American composer of Cuban Overture, An American in Paris, and Rhapsody in Blue. # This composer's symphonic tone poems include one originally named Rumba and another that featured taxi cab horns in its premiere at Carnegie Hall. This composer of Cuban Overture and An American in Paris also wrote an opera set in Catfish Row that features the songs "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "Bess, You Is My Woman Now." For 10 points, name this American composer of Porgy and Bess and Rhapsody in Blue.